I emphatically support the continued leadership of Superintendent Anita Skop in District 15. The loss of Superintendent Skop would do immediate and lasting damage to the students and community of the District and harm the trust we have in DOE processes.

The true measure of a leader is her courage under adversity and her ability to listen with compassion and humility in difficult situations. It is rare that a leader can pivot when challenged with differing perspectives and accept absolute accountability for her office. Superintendent Skop has demonstrated her mastery of these uncommon qualities throughout the challenges of COVID and a very contentious and difficult year for our District.

After the takedown of PS 295's beloved Mural, determined to be a violation of Chancellor’s Regulation A-830, anger and distrust of the DOE was at an all time high. It seemed impossible that any leader could navigate the very deep conflict in the District. To our ecstatic surprise, Superintendent Skop more than rose to the occasion. Her openness, effective work ethic, and willingness to embrace her community has led to the kind of sincere community confidence in the DOE that is exceptionally rare.

In her thirteen years of exceptional guidance, Ms. Skop has taken a collaborative approach to working with CEC 15, elevating parent and community voices. Ms. Skop has a legacy of groundbreaking equity work, including the D15 Diversity Plan which the Chancellor has often cited. Her work on this plan has been lauded as a model for other DOE districts. In addition, she has been at the helm of launching an inclusion school in Sunset Park, the first of its kind. Superintendent Skop consistently uses the PAR process to enhance community decision making and has secured equity grant partners that are working to center racial justice, anti-racism, phonics instruction, family engagement, and inquiry based teaching and learning.

As you can see, Superintendent Skop embodies each of the Chancellor’s four pillars: reimagining the student experience; scaling, sustaining, and restoring what works; prioritizing wellness and its link to student success; and empowering families to be our true partners.

In short, Superintendent Skop has helped build something special in District 15. Our community is on the path to cooperative progress towards a better and more equitable future for our children. We cannot imagine traveling that road without her. We have some of the most coveted schools in the city because of Anita Skop.

Superintendent Skop is the only choice for our District.